Inner Tripod Joint Seal Boot

REMOVAL
To remove sealing boot from driveshaft for replacement, the driveshaft assembly must be removed from the vehicle.
The inner tripod joints use no internal retention in the tripod housing to keep the spider assembly in the housing. Therefore, do not pull on the interconnecting shaft to disengage tripod housing from transmission stub shaft. Removal in this manner will cause damage to the inboard joint sealing boots.
1. Remove the driveshaft requiring boot replacement from the vehicle.

Fig. 18:

2. Remove large boot clamp that retains inner tripod joint sealing boot to tripod joint housing (Fig. 18) and discard. Then remove small clamp that retains inner tripod joint sealing boot to interconnecting shaft and discard. Remove the sealing boot from the tripod housing and slide it down the interconnecting shaft.

CAUTION: When removing the spider joint from the tripod joint housing, hold the rollers in place on the spider bunions to prevent the rollers and needle bearings from falling away.

Fig. 19:

3. Slide the interconnecting shaft and spider assembly out of the tripod joint housing (Fig. 19).

Fig. 20:

Fig. 21:

4. Remove snap ring that retains spider assembly to interconnecting shaft (Fig. 20). Remove the spider assembly from interconnecting shaft. If spider assembly will not come off interconnecting shaft by hand, it can be removed by tapping spider assembly with a brass drift (Fig. 21). Do not hit the outer tripod bearings in an attempt to remove spider assembly from interconnecting shaft.
5. Slide sealing boot off interconnecting shaft.
6. Thoroughly clean and inspect spider assembly, tripod joint housing, and interconnecting shaft for any signs of excessive wear. If any parts show signs of excessive wear, the driveshaft assembly will require replacement. Component parts of these driveshaft assemblies are not serviceable.

INSTALLATION

NOTE: The inner tripod joint sealing boots are made from two different types of material. High temperature applications use silicone rubber whereas standard temperature applications use Hytrel plastic. The silicone sealing boots are soft and pliable. The Hytrel sealing boots are stiff and rigid. The replacement sealing boot MUST BE the same type of material as the sealing boot that was removed.

Fig. 22:

1. Slide inner tripod joint seal boot retaining clamp, onto interconnecting shaft. Then slide the replacement inner tripod joint sealing boot onto interconnecting shaft. Inner tripod joint seal boot MUST be positioned on interconnecting shaft, so the raised bead on the inside of the seal boot is in groove on interconnecting shaft (Fig. 22).

Fig. 23:

Fig. 24:

2. Install spider assembly onto interconnecting shaft with chamfer on spider assembly toward interconnecting shaft (Fig. 23). Spider assembly must be installed on interconnecting shaft far enough to fully install spider retaining snap ring. If spider assembly will not fully install on interconnecting shaft by hand, it can be installed by tapping the spider body with a brass drift (Fig. 24). Do not hit the outer tripod bearings in an attempt to install spider assembly on interconnecting shaft.

Fig. 25:

3. Install the spider assembly to interconnecting shaft retaining snap ring into groove on end of interconnecting shaft (Fig. 25). Be sure the snap ring is fully seated into groove on interconnecting shaft.
4. Distribute 1/2 the amount of grease provided in the seal boot service package (DO NOT USE ANY OTHER TYPE OF GREASE) into tripod housing. Put the remaining amount into the sealing boot.

Fig. 26:

5. Align tripod housing with spider assembly and then slide tripod housing over spider assembly and interconnecting shaft (Fig. 26).
6. Install inner tripod joint seal boot to interconnecting shaft clamp evenly on sealing boot.

Fig. 27:

Fig. 28:

7. Clamp sealing boot onto interconnecting shaft using crimper, Special Tool C-4975-A and the following procedure. Place crimping tool C-4975-A over bridge of clamp (Fig. 27). Tighten nut on crimping tool C-4975-A until jaws on tool are closed completely together, face to face (Fig. 28).

CAUTION: Seal must not be dimpled, stretched, or out-of-shape in any way. If seal is NOT shaped correctly, equalize pressure in seal and shape it by hand.

8. Position sealing boot into the tripod housing retaining groove. Install seal boot retaining clamp evenly on sealing boot.

CAUTION: The following positioning procedure determines the correct air pressure inside the inner tripod joint assembly prior to clamping the sealing boot to inner tripod joint housing. If this procedure is not done prior to clamping sealing boot to tripod joint housing, boot durability can be adversely affected.

CAUTION: When venting the inner tripod joint assembly, use care so inner tripod sealing boot does not get punctured or, in any other way, damaged. If sealing boot is punctured or damaged while being vented, the sealing boot can not be used.

Fig. 29:

9. Insert a trim stick between the tripod joint and the sealing boot to vent inner tripod joint assembly (Fig. 29). When inserting trim stick between tripod housing and sealing boot, ensure trim stick is held flat and firmly against the tripod housing. If this is not done, damage to the sealing boot can occur. If inner tripod joint has a Hytrel (hard plastic) sealing boot, be sure trim stick is inserted between soft rubber insert and tripod housing, and not the hard plastic sealing boot and soft rubber insert.

Fig. 30:

Fig. 31:

10. With trim stick inserted between sealing boot and tripod joint housing, position inner tripod joint on driveshaft until correct sealing boot edge to edge length is obtained for type of sealing boot material being used (Fig. 30) (Fig. 31). Then remove the trim stick.

Fig. 32:

Fig. 33:

11. Clamp tripod joint sealing boot to tripod joint using required procedure for type of boot clamp application. If seal boot uses crimp type boot clamp, clamp sealing boot onto tripod housing using crimper, Special Tool C-4975-A. Place crimping tool C-4975-A over bridge of clamp (Fig. 32). Tighten nut on crimping tool C-4975-A until jaws on tool are closed completely together, face-to-face (Fig. 33).

Fig. 34:

Fig. 35:

12. If seal boot uses low profile latching type boot clamp, clamp sealing boot onto tripod housing using clamp locking tool, Snap-On YA3050 (or an equivalent). Place prongs of clamp locking tool in the holes of the clamp (Fig. 34). Squeeze tool together until top band of clamp is latched behind the two tabs on lower band of clamp (Fig. 35).
13. Install the driveshaft requiring boot replacement back on the vehicle.